It Only Took 7 MONTHS to Receive my European Master's Degree!

Last week I received a voice mail from my apartment complex, "You have a package, please come by and pick it up before 6 p.m." With a big smile on my face, I strolled into the office at 5:57 p.m. They handed me a lovely package from Universtitetet I Oslo...and the angels started singing. Ahhhhhh, my European Master's joint-degree, finally! You see, this simple piece of paper has not only seen the world, but was a personal labor of love. In November, I was summoned--by my classmates--to write a formal letter of complaint to the University of Oslo for not sending out our diplomas in June...or shortly thereafter. After many emails with the figureheads in Oslo, they finally got the ball rolling. I still do not understand what the issue was...but it sounds like there was some bad blood among the individuals who were responsible for coordinating the diploma production. Since this was a joint-degree, three signatures and "stamps of approval" were needed from three different university officials, in three different countries (Norway, Portugal, and Finland). And, so the adventure began...the diplomas went on a sojourn. Somewhere along the signature journey, the diplomas stopped off in Chile (yes, the country in South America). Why, you ask...I'm only speculating, but I think it had something to do with the long line of incompetency. Anyway, I am sitting here with my beautiful European joint-degree in one hand and a glass of wine in the other...reflecting on the amazing two years in Europe and how much I miss my HEEM family.